A Race Against Time and the KGB
by Rouch
Summary: A terrorist "enlists" Lee and Amanda's help
1.

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine, you may copy at any whim you so choose however please leave credit where credit is due.

Yes it is now the 21st (IFF Girl LOL) Finals are over! I am now free to unleash my writing on you poor unsuspecting fanfic readers for a month. Enjoy and I will do my best to post at least once every other day. More if you can stand it. 

A Race Against Time and the KGB

Amanda's eyes were heavy. She was faintly aware of Lee calling her name, but her head hurt too much to concentrate on anything. Her world as she knew it began to move; and as she tried to clear the cobwebs she realized someone was shaking her. "Lee…"

"Yes. Amanda, that's it. Come on. Wake up." Lee encouraged.

"Lee?" She repeated becoming aware of her surroundings. She was in her office, the Q bureau, and there were agents swarming the small room. Billy and Francine hovered a respectful distance. Amanda brought her hand up to her head and noticed a gray band fastened to her wrist. She studied it and looked into Lee's concerned eyes. "What happened? What is this?" She questioned.

"What do you remember?" Billy asked.

Amanda thought about her morning. "We were getting ready to leave for lunch when I heard machine gun fire." She started and Lee nodded for her to continue. "Mrs. Marsden?"

"She's okay." Lee answered. Amanda grabbed his hand. She realized she had been lying down on their couch and wanted to sit up. "Easy." Lee warned as he helped her.

Her head was spinning and began to throb. She'd been drugged enough times to know what it felt like. Closing her eyes to stop the room from swirling she continued. "I was by the vault and tried to make it to my gun in my desk when the bullets crashed through the door." She felt her forehead and found a gauze bandage soaked with blood. "One grazed my head and I blacked out. After that I just remember bits and pieces." 

"You were in and out." Lee informed her. "Alexi Morehouse broke in demanding his brother be released. The only problem is we don't have him. We never did. Alexi refused to believe me and put that dead man's watch on you."

Amanda examined the face of the device. The timer was strange but the rest looked standard. "It's different." She observed.

"It administers random doses of poison which will kill slowly if we don't get it off you or find Dimitri." Billy interjected with more calmness than he felt. As he spoke it beeped. 

Amanda felt a poke under the watch and a slight burning as the drug entered her system. She gasped in surprise and felt a wave of nausea over take her. "Excuse me." She said bolting for the bathroom.

"Francine." Lee ordered, but Francine was already heading in her direction.

"Amanda?" Francine questioned as she shut the door not sure what stall she was in. "Are you okay?" She heard movement and Amanda left the confines of the stall to sit on a nearby chair.

"I've been better." She admitted steadying herself. "How many of those do you think I've had?"

"We're not sure. There seems to be no pattern to the injections."

Amanda nodded. "How many of those do you think I can handle?"

Francine shocked her by sitting next to her and putting an arm around her shoulder. "We don't know and we're not going to find out." 

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. "Amanda? Are you okay?" A worried Lee asked through the door.

Amanda stood and opened the door with shaky hands. She looked up at Lee and noticed a black eye forming and a nasty lump on his head. She reached out to touch the bruise, "Are you okay?" She echoed.

"Amanda, I'm fine." He answered taking her outstretched hand in his. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"No way." She spoke with determination.

"Amanda now is not the time to argue."

"You're absolutely right. We need to be searching for Dimitri."

"_I _need to be searching for Dimitri." Lee corrected his wife.

"Lee listen. The last time we saw one of these," she motioned to the watch, "You were the one wearing it and as I recall you didn't just sit around waiting to die."

"She has a point Scarecrow." Francine commented.

"You stay out of it." Lee pointed to the blonde. "Amanda King—"

"Spare me the speeches Stetson. It's about time you were in my place…" Amanda trailed off instantly sorry for her outburst. "Lee," she began softly. "I need to be doing something to keep my mind off this. I know you understand that."

Lee hugged her, "I do understand. I just want to do everything possible to help. I don't want to loose you." 

"Never." She whispered in his ear.

Walking back into the office Amanda surveyed the damage. "How could this happen?"

"We let our guard down." Billy answered simply. "They were in and out in five minutes, but that's four minutes and fifty nine seconds too many."

"Where do we start?" She asked as Billy looked at her questioningly. "I can't just sit around sir." She explained. 

He nodded his understanding. "We split up. Lee and Amanda follow up on your contacts. Francine and I will hit ours."

"If we find him then what? We can't just hand him over to Alexi. He's a terrorist and a killer!" 

"I'm not sure Amanda. We'll deal with that when we come to it." Billy answered honestly.

To be continued…


	2. 

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine; you may copy at any whim you so choose however please leave credit where credit is due.

Okay, so thanks for all the questions. I must confess I hadn't thought too thoroughly about the details and I was just a little excited to see what everyone would think of the plot. I appreciate the constructive criticism. Thanks for keeping me honest! I'll try harder next time to answer all the questions. As for the bolt cutters I thought that "Bad Timing" had established that Lee's watch was tamper proof causing the watch to inject him if anyone tried to remove it without the keys I could be wrong so I've incorporated this aspect into the plot. Thanks again for all your comments.

Look for the conclusion for Vengeance and Valor on Tuesday!

A Race Against Time and the KGB

Lee steered Amanda down the stairs, but surprised her with a detour toward the elevator instead of the door. "Where are we going?" She questioned.

"You are going to go see Doc Kelpert." He answered calmly as he pushed the down button.

"No. I'm going with you remember." She stated through her teeth.

The doors parted and Lee stepped in. "Fine you can come with me to see the doctor." He gave her his most charming grin.

She smiled in spite of everything and joined him. "Why? Does your head hurt?"

"No, but yours is bleeding." He brought his hand up and wiped some blood that had seeped through her bandage. "Badly. You may need stitches." He spoke with concern.

She nodded and took his hand. Leaving the elevator they walked in silence to the Kelpert's office. Opening the door they were met by the smiling face of the agency's doctor. Amanda was convinced he should have gone into pediatrics; he certainly had the bedside manner for it.

"It looks like someone got a bad ouchie." He observed leading Amanda to the exam table. 

"I don't have an ouchie." Amanda said smiling remembering Lee have a similar conversation the year before with the doctor. He lifted the bandage from her wound, "Ouch!" 

"See." Lee replied but was silenced by a look from Amanda.

"You need some stitches," he started. "Are you hurt anywhere I can't see?" He questioned.

Lee answered for her, "You might want to work with Doc McJohn. She's got a dead man's watch on that injects her with something at random intervals."

Amanda gave him an exasperated look, "You set me up."

"No. They'll take some blood and look you over. I'm going to meet with Rhonda and will come back to pick you up before I talk with T.P." Lee defended himself.

"Stetson how about you? You don't look so hot either." Kelpert asked. 

Lee held up his hands. "No ouchies here. I'll survive, just take care of my partner." He finished seriously. His eyes met Amanda's. "I'm going to call Leatherneck from my car and get him working on a way out of that watch just in case." Amanda lowered her head, but Lee lifted her chin up gently. "I'll be back in an hour, alright? I'm not going to ditch you on this I promise."

"Alright." She answered quietly.

_=================================================//============================================_

Lee and Amanda rode silently to there meeting with T.P. Dr. McJohn had informed them that they would know within the hour what Amanda was being given. Lee couldn't help but worry. Leatherneck promised his men would be working around the clock to devise a way out of the watch, but the whole thing was too iffy. Leatherneck had commented on how complex the watches were and he was afraid by tampering with it in any way would cause an instant overdose. In fact every option they had was a long shot. If they found Dimitri how could they trust a killer to keep his word and free her? As Lee pulled into the park he heard the watch beep.

"Oh. Lee?"

"I'm here Amanda." He answered.

"My chest hurts." She announced as her face turned pale.

"Amanda, are you okay?"

She didn't say anything.

"Amanda?" Lee was panicking.

"Hurts to breathe." She spoke out of breath.

"Amanda we need to get you to a doctor."

"No, give me a minute."

"Amanda if you stop breathing…" Lee warned not sure what he'd do.

"I just need a minute. Go find T.P." She told him with tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me. What's happening?"

She was silent for a minute, which seemed like hours to Lee. "It's getting better." She said managing a smile and reached for the door handle. Lee grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "Lee, I'm alright. Let's go see T.P." She answered unable to meet his eyes.

"No. You're not." Lee returned and lifted her head to look into her eyes. Lee saw the pain.

Amanda jerked her head away from him. "Alright I'm not okay. It hurts. Is that what you want to hear?"

"Amanda," Lee began quietly. "I just want you to talk to me that's all." Lee continued.

Amanda nodded, "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just hard."

"What is?"

"I've worked so hard to get to where I'm at. Even though I've proved to everyone and myself that I'm a good agent, but I feel like I'll always be a housewife from Arlington. If I admit that there's something stopping me from doing my job it's like surrendering to everyone's expectations of me." She blurted out.

Lee was stunned. She had never shared these feelings with him before. He hadn't had a clue. Thinking back to her "official" training, now in light of what she had just confessed, everything made sense. She studied until she had the highest marks and practiced until she had the best aim. She was an incredible agent, but the reason wasn't merely because she had great instincts. She felt like she had to be better than the best to even be accepted by her colleagues. "Amanda…"

"Let's go meet with T.P." She whispered leaving the car.

Lee hurried to follow her, "This conversation is not over." He told her placing a comforting hand on her back.

_=================================================//============================================_

Lee could hear his car phone ringing as he and Amanda approached the Vette. Sprinting to pick up the phone before they caller hung up, Lee noted that Amanda continued her slow pace to the car. Lee was getting very worried about her. She was pale a quiet and seemed to be exhausted. "Hello." He answered.

"Lee, it's Billy. I need you and Amanda back here on the double." He ordered.

"What's going on?" Lee asked concerned at the tone in his superior's voice. As he spoke Amanda finally reached the car and sat sideways on the seat with her feet still on the ground and her head in her hands, clearly struggling for breath. "Amanda. Are you okay?"

"What's wrong Lee?" Billy questioned.

"I'm not sure. I gotta go. We'll be there as soon as we can. We spoke with T.P. It's a set up Billy." Lee finished revealing the outcome of their conversation. His was mind was still reeling from the turn their investigation had taken. He barely heard Billy confirm he found the same information as they hung up. Lee dashed around to the passenger side kneeling down to be eye level with her. He grabbed both hands. "Amanda?"

She shook her head. "I'm just tired." She met his gaze and could tell he wasn't buying it. "Lee honest… I have no energy." She finally said in resignation.

Lee hugged her tightly and helped her get her feet into the car. After buckling her in he shut the door and climbed in the drivers seat. "We're going to find him and the keys Amanda." Lee promised.

Amanda merely nodded never opening her eyes.  
  
_=================================================//============================================_

Billy watched from his office as Amanda and Lee entered the foyer. Lee was clearly the only reason Amanda was still standing. He set her down gently on a chair while he signed them in and retrieved their badges. Continuing to watch Billy ordered a passenger car to meet them when the doors opened. Without missing a beat he placed a call to Dr. Kelpert. Amanda was now leaning very heavily on the wall and Lee. When they emerged Amanda was relieved to see the white cart and looked directly into the surveillance camera almost making eye contact with Billy. Pulling up to Billy's office Lee helped Amanda stand and guided her to the couch facing their superior's desk. 

"Amanda." Billy spoke with concern.

"I'm just a little weak right now. It'll pass." She spoke trying to sound convincing.

Billy shook his head, "Actually it won't pass."

"What do you mean Billy?" Lee asked urgently.

Dr. Kelpert chose that moment to make his arrival hearing the last part of their conversation. "Amanda is being given bisoprolol. It decreases the heart rate and O2 consumption. I think we can treat the symptoms, but we need to stop the injections. Amanda, how are you feeling?" He asked kneeling down and placing an overstuffed medical bag on the couch next to her. He checked her pulse while he waited for an answer.

"Weak," she spoke softly.

"You're heart rate is 52 Amanda!" He exclaimed and began digging in his bag producing a large needle and vial.

"Wait a minute," Amanda protested. "What is that?"

"Atrophine. We need to get your heart rate up." He answered calmly sterilizing a small patch on her forearm. The needle slide in. Amanda grimaced and the doctor continued. "What other symptoms are you experiencing?"

Amanda hesitated but realized it was just Billy and Lee. She could lie to neither, "Um, dizzy, cold, nauseous, and it's hard to breath." She admitted.

Kelpert nodded grimly. "I'm going to prescribe some diuretics and a digitals. Unfortunately that's not going to get rid of the cause. Bisoprolol isn't a drug that can be discontinued abruptly either. My only other thought is to wait until all of the drug is dispensed and continue treating your symptoms."

"That's too risky." Lee interjected. "They wouldn't make it that easy. The last injection is probably a fatal one."

Billy nodded taking everything in. "Amanda, how are you feeling now?"

"Better. I can breath easier, but I'm still tired."

The doctor scribbled something on his pad and looked up at her seriously. "I want this prescription filled within the hour and I want you to check in with me often." He put up his hand to silence her protest that he saw coming. "Even if that means all you can do is call I'll be satisfied. Alright?" She nodded. "And if you manage to get the watch off I need to know. We'll have to do some emergency rearranging of those drugs. Now, I'll let you spies crack this case."

"Thanks Doc." Amanda called as he left the office. Lee left his seat to take one next to Amanda.

"What did you turn up?" Billy asked.

"T.P. says Alexi works for the KGB, and Rhonda informed me that the KGB has had a hit out on Dimitri for months now. They're setting us up and making us do their dirty work." Lee said angrily.

"Francine found out about the hit, but Alexi working for the KGB? Why would he want his brother dead?" Billy questioned.

"Who knows what those agents motives are. They're not god enough to find Dimitri so they've 'enlisted' us." Lee continued as Amanda listened quietly. She was angry when T.P. informed them of Alexi's alliances, but she was too tired to get worked up about it.

Francine burst through the door. "Have you heard of knocking? We're a little on edge." Lee remarked.

The blonde rolled her eyes but continued, "We've got a lead!" She announced.

"Where? On who?" Billy asked.

"Dimitri. I have a source that says he entered Washington State two days ago from the Canadian boarder." She finished.

"Let's go." Amanda stood on shaky legs.

"You don't look so hot." Francine noted.

"She's right. You're not going anywhere." Lee said protectively. 

Amanda glared. "I'm going. Let me fill these prescriptions and pack." She shot back heading for the dispensary not waiting for a reply from anyone.

To be continued…

_ _


	3. 

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King and its characters are the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine; you may copy at any whim you so choose however please leave credit where credit is due.

I apologize for the delay. Would you believe me if I told you was walking down the street and was kidnapped by an international terrorist, or was it a foreign agent, or a deranged man who wanted to sell me, or a ruthless diamond thief. Anyway whoever it was I tried to tell them I had a story to write, that I was right in the middle of it, but he… Maybe real life just happened as it usually does and I will do my best to finish this with speed.

A Race Against Time and the KGB

Amanda leaned her head against the plane window and watched the clouds pass under them. She hadn't said a word since the plane took off, but her hand had remained firmly in Lee's. Francine sat next to them keeping Lee from comforting his wife like he wanted to. Lee's watched beeped causing Amanda to jump. "Sorry," he apologized quickly turning the watch off. "It's time to take you medication." He spoke softly.

Amanda smiled in spite of the situation, and dutifully took her regimen of pills. "I'm sorry I've been so difficult." She started.

"Don't apologize. We're all a little on edge. Let's concentrate on finding Dimitri quickly, okay?" Lee replied just as the announcement came overhead: _We will be landing at SeaTac national airport in four minutes, the local time is currently 4:30 p.m. Please return your seats to an upright position and fasten your seatbelts._

"Let's get the show on the road," Francine interjected.

------------------------------------------------------------_//_-------------------------------------------------------------

At 9:00 Amanda collapsed on her bed at the Hilton. Aside from the fatigue from the drugs her body was still on D.C. time and was exhausted. They had spent a good 3 hours at the local FBI headquarters gathering information and filling out paperwork. She was relieved that the watch had only injected her once since they left D.C., but it was enough to make her feel like the wrong end of a train wreck. Amanda drifted off to sleep before she knew it still dressed in her blue jeans, sweatshirt and sneakers.

A ringing suddenly awakened Amanda; she lay still for a moment trying to clear her brain until it registered that the phone was ringing. Glancing at her clock she grimaced: 2:00 am. "Hello?"

"Amanda King?" A gruff voice asked.

"Yes. Who is this?" 

"Meet me at 3rd and Spring St. in one hour." 

"Who is this?" She asked again.

"The man you're looking for," was the replied followed by a 'click'.

Amanda stared at the receiver as if it would provide some answer. She shook her head and dialed Lee's room.

He answered on the second ring, "Hello."

"Lee it's Amanda—"

"What's wrong, are you alright?" He cut in concerned.

"I'm okay. I've been contacted by Dimitri I think."

"You think? How." He asked switching from concerned husband to agent.

Amanda explained the phone call and agreed to stay put, and wait for he and Francine to meet her in her room.

---------------------------------------------------------------_//_------------------------------------------------------------

One hour later Lee and Francine were waiting at the designated corner a few blocks from there hotel, while Amanda provided back up. She was completely exhausted and this was one occasion she did not mind "waiting in the car". She was actually a block down on a street bench. Both Lee and Francine were wired and Amanda had an earpiece so she would know if they would need backup or not. 

They did not however realize that they were under surveillance. 

Amanda glanced down the street, looking for the suspect. She only saw one homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk. 

"I don't think he's going to show. Maybe we spooked him having two of us here." Lee spoke softly into his receiver.

Amanda for her part was not convinced. Dimitri must have gone to great trouble to find her. Maybe he even had an inside source somehow. That was really the only way he could have gotten her number. "My number." Amanda whispered. She made quick eye contact with Lee. She wanted to tell him her concerns. If Dimitri had contacted her that meant he knew where they were staying and somehow knew her room number. She glanced around one last time. The homeless man was gone! Standing quickly she ran to her partners.

Lee and Francine for there part had their guns out. Lee saw Amanda's nervousness, and then her sudden movement. He trusted her enough to know something was very wrong. He nodded his approval as he saw Francine react just as quickly. Everyone trusted his wife's judgment.

Amanda reached them out of breath. Lee supported her with his right hand. "I think it's a set up."

To be continued…


	4. part IV

**Disclaimer: See part one**

**Ok…I'm sorry this took so long.  I won't keep you hanging for a year this time.  It's a short part, look for more to come later…**

**Lee immediate tried to find cover. "Why, what's going on?" As he asked the question Amanda's watch beeped. Lee felt her sway and he swore under his breath. She should not have come, but he needed her.**

**"I'm okay." She assured them weakly. "We need to get out of here right now." **

**"I couldn't agree more." Francine answered**

**~~//~~**

**Having made their way back to the hotel uneventfully Lee and Francine helped Amanda to her room. Amanda sat heavily on her bed as Lee, kneeling in front of her, handed her and glass of water and her medication. After taking them she began, "Lee we can't stay here. He knows my room number. How could he, we didn't even check in using our real names. He must either work here, or had an inside source somewhere. The meet was only a few blocks from here. He had to have been watching us." She rambled.**

**Lee laid a comforting hand on her knee. "Well if someone is watching us, we're not really safe anywhere are we? My room has a pullout couch and a king size bed. I think we should all stay together for safety." He concluded.**

**Francine raised a questioning eyebrow. "Who gets the couch?"**

**"I'll take it." Lee answered.**

**"I was just giving you a hard time. Look, I'm not blind. I know there's more to your relationship then you admit. I'll take the couch." The blond proclaimed and left for her room to gather her things without another word.**

**Lee turned to Amanda who was shaking her head. Lee gave her sympathetic smile and drew her into a hug. "I shouldn't have come." Amanda proclaimed pulling away. "I mean what if that was a trap and I pass out. You could have been killed."**

**Lee took her chin,  "Amanda, listen. You are here. I'm glad you're here. If it wasn't for you who knows what would have happened tonight? If the places were switched I'd be here too. Right?"**

**Amanda smiled and nodded. "I love you."**

**Lee kissed her softly, "I love you too Mrs. Stetson. Let's grab some things here and move to my room.**

**~~//~~**

**Once Amanda opened her eyes, she knew it was a bad idea.  The light exploded in her head.  If it wasn't for the overwhelm sense of nausea she would have allowed herself to succumb to the blackness that was threatening to over take her.  She immediately bolted for the bathroom.  **

**Lee felt her leave the bed and move to be with her, closing the bathroom door to give her some privacy, and to make sure Francine was not disturbed.**

**Amanda was spent.  All her energy was used in an instant as she lean back into Lee's embrace.  He steadied her and let her compose herself.  Wrapping his arms around her he shifted her into a more comfortable position.  He felt her stiff body suddenly go limp.  He lifted her from the floor and brought her back to the bed.  He sat next to her sleeping form and took her wrist in his hand to check her heart rate.  While he silently counted he brushed a strand of hair from her face.    **

**"Is she okay?"  He heard Francine's concerned voice as she came up behind him.**

**"Her heart rate is about 67.  She just got sick and passed out.  I need to check in at the Bureau, but I want to let her sleep as long as I can.  I don't want to leave her alone…"**

**"I'll stay with her." She answered Lee's unasked question.  **

**Lee stood and squeezed his friend's arm as he passed her to get ready.**

**~~//~~**

**It was 10:00 am when housekeeping knocked on the door.  Amanda was still sleeping, as Francine stood to answer the door and tell them to come back later, the door open.**

**"Housekeeping" a heavy accent announced.**

**"Now's not a good time," the blond tried to explain while she tried to determine where the porter was from to explain in his native language.  Suddenly a gun was produced from the house keeper's cart.  Francine lifted her hands and glanced at the table.  Her gun was in her purse across the room.  The door soon opened again revealing Dimitri's smiling face.  **

**"Ms. Desmond." He said politely.**

**"Dimitri, what—"**

**"Sit down." He ordered.  When she hesitated he shouted "Now! And Shut up!"**

**The blonde obeyed once the gun was aimed at Amanda's still form.  Dimitri pulled a cord out of a lamp and tied her hands behind her back and to the chair.  Satisfied that the blonde was no longer a threat he moved to the bed.  He brutally slapped Amanda's face, leaving a hand-shaped welt on her cheek.  **

**Amanda was instantly awake, but had no time to clear the haze as she was pulled from the bed and forced from the room.**

**TBC…**


End file.
